Uh, what?

My confused little world has transitioned from English to Spanish without warning me in advance.

I was driving to work, listening to NPR per usual. The radio spontaneously changed stations to a Spanish-language station.

I was going to scan some documents into a PDF file; the photocopier control panel was displaying instructions in Spanish. I could have changed the default back to English, but the words and symbols were clear enough that I got my job done without difficulty.

Sitting at my desk, the telephone rang: it was a telemarketing recorded message, all in Spanish.

All before 9:30 AM.

I have no issues with using languages other than English --I can switch to French or ASL-- but I work in an environment where dialects of Hindi or Farsi are vastly more common than Spanish. In a way, it's kind of nice to have the novelty of having Spanish insert itself into the mix, even if it's just random chance.

Uh, what?

My confused little world has transitioned from English to Spanish without warning me in advance.

I was driving to work, listening to NPR per usual. The radio spontaneously changed stations to a Spanish-language station.

I was going to scan some documents into a PDF file; the photocopier control panel was displaying instructions in Spanish. I could have changed the default back to English, but the words and symbols were clear enough that I got my job done without difficulty.

Sitting at my desk, the telephone rang: it was a telemarketing recorded message, all in Spanish.

All before 9:30 AM.

I have no issues with using languages other than English --I can switch to French or ASL-- but I work in an environment where dialects of Hindi or Farsi are vastly more common than Spanish. In a way, it's kind of nice to have the novelty of having Spanish insert itself into the mix, even if it's just random chance.

2009 Convention Statistics

kent4str collected the mail from the DCDC post box yesterday so I've had a new batch of convention registrations to process. I expect registrations will drop off until the Cleveland convention next July so I assembled the following statistics for our convention meeting this Sunday:

Registrations: 245 (99 early bird, 146 regular)
Male: 197, Female: 48
US: 220, Canada: 23, Japan: 2

Fun badge tour: 75

Meal Preferences:
Beef: 127, Chicken: 100, Vegetarian: 17
Still checking to see where we lost a diner... One guy didn't list his preference on his registration form and hasn't yet responded to my e-mail query.

Top Club Affiliations:
DC Lambda Squares: 35, Times Squares: 23, Squares Across The Border: 14
El Camino Reelers: 18, Midnight Squares: 13, Triangle Squares: 8
Independence Squares: 10, Golden State Squares: 8, Chesapeake Squares: 8

Interestingly, 20 people have no stated club affiliation.

Direct TV vs. Dish Network?

We currently have cable TV via Comcastic. Contrary to their marketing campaign, they are not comcastic: they are craptastic at best. Just last week, we observed 11 channels frozen for over 3 hours. Frequently, tv programs paused, garbled or lose audio. They suck.

I know satellite systems have their own issues: I've had Bell ExpressVu for some time. Still, we've reached the point where we're willing to bear the misc pains of satellite rather than continue with cable.

Does anyone have a strong opinion of Direct TV versus Dish Network? As near as we can tell, the channels we want are available on both and the prices aren't all that different.

Thoughts?

Direct TV vs. Dish Network?

We currently have cable TV via Comcastic. Contrary to their marketing campaign, they are not comcastic: they are craptastic at best. Just last week, we observed 11 channels frozen for over 3 hours. Frequently, tv programs paused, garbled or lose audio. They suck.

I know satellite systems have their own issues: I've had Bell ExpressVu for some time. Still, we've reached the point where we're willing to bear the misc pains of satellite rather than continue with cable.

Does anyone have a strong opinion of Direct TV versus Dish Network? As near as we can tell, the channels we want are available on both and the prices aren't all that different.

Thoughts?

Figures!

I follow Canadian elections like some people follow baseball or football.

This week was a double-header: provincial elections in Newfoundland & Labrador Monday and Ontario tonight. Woo hoo!

The numbers were streaming in after the polls closed at 9 PM and TVOntario had continuous coverage. The Liberals appear to be re-elected with another large majority. The Conservative leader was losing in his own riding. But just as they were covering my parents' area --the riding of Temiskaming-Cochrane in north-eastern Ontario-- longtime Liberal MPP Jim Ramsay was 500 votes behind the NDP candidate, it happened: we lost the satellite signal. DAMN!

The universe has a twisted sense of humour.

Figures!

I follow Canadian elections like some people follow baseball or football.

This week was a double-header: provincial elections in Newfoundland & Labrador Monday and Ontario tonight. Woo hoo!

The numbers were streaming in after the polls closed at 9 PM and TVOntario had continuous coverage. The Liberals appear to be re-elected with another large majority. The Conservative leader was losing in his own riding. But just as they were covering my parents' area --the riding of Temiskaming-Cochrane in north-eastern Ontario-- longtime Liberal MPP Jim Ramsay was 500 votes behind the NDP candidate, it happened: we lost the satellite signal. DAMN!

The universe has a twisted sense of humour.